Systems and methods for universal serial bus (usb) power delivery with multiple charging ports

ABSTRACT

A universal serial bus (USB) charging system includes a power supply including a plurality of power converters and a plurality of power supply outputs electrically coupled to the plurality of power converters, respectively. Each of the plurality of power converters is configured to convert an input voltage to a plurality of output voltages. A plurality of charging ports are electrically connected with the plurality of power supply outputs, respectively. Each of the plurality of charging ports provides an output voltage selected from the plurality of output voltages to an electronic device. A logic circuit is in electrical communication with the power supply and the plurality of charging ports. The logic circuit provides direct feedback to the power supply to output a particular output voltage of the plurality of output voltages to the plurality of charging ports and regulates a temperature of the plurality of charging ports.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit and priority of and priorityto U.S. National Stage application Ser. No. 17/268,935, filed on Feb.16, 2021, which is a national stage application of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2019/048739, filed Aug. 29, 2019, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

All residential and commercial buildings have wall outlets for poweringAC-powered devices, such as lights, appliances, electronic devices,computers, and mobile devices. The AC-powered devices typically have apower cord with a plug configured to be connected to and removed fromthe wall outlet.

An outlet is a female connector with slots or holes in the wall outlet.The slots are configured to receive a male connector often referred toas a plug. The plug has protruding prongs, blades, or pins that fit intomatching slots in the wall outlet. The wall outlet is enclosed by acover typically called a wall plate, face plate, outlet cover, socketcover, or wall cover. Different countries have different nationalstandards for wall outlets. The national standards differ by voltagerating, current rating, connector shape, connector size, and connectortype.

Due to proliferation of various rechargeable consumer electronicdevices, such as cell phones, laptops, tablets, personal digitalassistants (PDA's), and the like, there is a need to charge and/orconnect to such devices. Most of these devices are powered by lowvoltage. Recharging these devices may be facilitated through the use ofstandard interfaces, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB).

There have been developed a number of standards and solutions forproviding power via USB. USB standards define the physical andelectrical specifications of USB. Examples of these standards includeUSB 3.1, USB Power Delivery, and their revisions. USB has several typesof connectors including USB Type-A and Type-C. Such USB Connectors canbe used to supply power to a device.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail withreference to the drawing figures wherein like reference numeralsidentify similar or identical elements.

An aspect of the present disclosure features a universal serial bus(USB) charging system configured to charge connected electronic devices.The system includes a power supply including a power supply including aplurality of power converters and a plurality of power supply outputselectrically coupled to the plurality of power converters, respectively,each of the plurality of power converters configured to convert an inputvoltage to a plurality of different output voltages; a plurality ofcharging ports electrically coupled to the plurality of power supplyoutputs, respectively, each of the plurality of charging portsconfigured to connect to, and provide an output voltage selected fromthe plurality of different output voltages to, an electronic device; anda controller in electrical communication with the power supply and theplurality of charging ports. The controller includes one or moreprocessors and a memory having stored thereon instructions which, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the controller to: communicateinformation regarding the plurality of different output voltages tofirst and second electronic devices via respective first and secondcharging ports of the plurality of charging ports; receive, via therespective first and second charging ports, information regarding firstand second output voltages selected from the plurality of differentoutput voltages by the respective first and second electronic devices;and control the power supply to provide the selected first outputvoltage to the first electronic device and to provide the selectedsecond output voltage to the second electronic device.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the USB charging systemfurther includes a first power delivery (PD) integrated circuit and asecond PD integrated circuit, the first and second PD integratedcircuits in electrical communication with the controller and configuredto selectively disable transmission of electrical energy tocorresponding charging ports.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the controller communicates afirst set of output voltages to the first electronic device andcommunicates a second set of output voltages to the second electronicdevice, wherein the first set is different from the second set.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, further cause the controller todetermine the first and second sets of output voltages based on at leastone parameter associated with the first and second electronic devices,respectively.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the at least oneparameter is at least one of the current being drawn by each of thefirst and second electronic devices, the charge levels of each of thefirst and second electronic devices, the period over which each of thefirst and second electronic devices have been charged by the USBcharging system, and the priority level of each of the first and secondelectronic devices.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the charging ports areUSB Type-C charging ports.

In yet a further aspect of the present disclosure, the priority level isdetermined based on the order in which the first and second electronicdevices are connected to the USB charging system.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the system further includes acurrent sense resister coupled to each of the first and second chargingports. The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the controller to measure voltage across each of the current senseresistors and determine a charge level of each of the first and secondelectronic devices based on the measured voltages.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the controller determines afirst set of output voltages that includes an output voltage greaterthan the output voltages in the second set of output voltages, if thefirst electronic device has the lower charge level than the secondelectronic device. In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, thefirst and second sets of output voltages are determined based on totalpower that can be provided by the USB charging system.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure presents a method forcharging electronic devices. The method includes communicatinginformation regarding different output voltages to first and secondelectronic devices via first and second charging ports, respectively,receiving, via the respective first and second charging ports,information regarding first and second output voltages selected by therespective first and second electronic devices from the different outputvoltages, converting an input voltage to the selected first and secondoutput voltages, and providing the selected first output voltage to thefirst electronic device and providing the selected second output voltageto the second electronic device.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, a first set of output voltagesis communicated to the first electronic device and a second set ofoutput voltages is communicated to the second electronic device, whereinthe first set is different from the second set.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method includesdetermining the first and second sets of output voltages based on atleast one parameter associated with each of the first and secondelectronic devices, respectively.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the at least oneparameter is at least one of the current being drawn by each of thefirst and second electronic devices, the charge levels of each of thefirst and second electronic devices, the period over which each of thefirst and second electronic devices have been charged, and the prioritylevel of each of the first and second electronic devices.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the method includesdetermining the priority level based on the order in which the first andsecond electronic devices are connected to the USB charging system.

In yet a further aspect of the present disclosure, the method includesmeasuring a first current supplied to the first electronic device,determining a first charge level based on the first current, measuring asecond current supplied to the second electronic device, and determininga second charge level based on the second current.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method includesdetermining whether the first electronic device has a lower charge levelthan the second electronic device, wherein the first and second sets ofoutput voltages are determined so that the first set of output voltagesincludes an output voltage greater than the output voltages in thesecond set of output voltages, if it is determined that the firstelectronic device has a lower charge level than the second electronicdevice. In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the first andsecond sets of output voltages are determined based on total power thatcan be provided by the USB charging system.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a universal serial bus(USB) charging system includes a power supply including a plurality ofpower converters and a plurality of power supply outputs electricallycoupled to the plurality of power converters, respectively. Each of theplurality of power converters is configured to convert an input voltageto a plurality of output voltages. A plurality of charging ports areelectrically connected with the plurality of power supply outputs,respectively. Each of the plurality of charging ports is configured toprovide an output voltage selected from the plurality of output voltagesto an electronic device. A logic circuit is in electrical communicationwith the power supply and the plurality of charging ports. The logiccircuit is configured to provide direct feedback to the power supply tooutput a particular output voltage of the plurality of output voltagesto the plurality of charging ports.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a first powerconverter of the plurality of power converters simultaneously outputs afirst output voltage different from a second output voltage output by asecond power converter of the plurality of power converters.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each respectiveelectronic device connected with each respective charging port of theplurality of charging ports may receive a same output voltage.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the pluralityof charging ports may be a USB Type-C charging port.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, voltages of theplurality of output voltages may range from substantially 5 volts tosubstantially 20 volts.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit mayinclude a first power delivery (PD) controller integrated circuit (IC)and a second PD controller IC. The first PD controller IC may beelectrically connected with a first charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports. The second PD controller IC may be electricallyconnected with a second charging port of the plurality of chargingports.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the first PDcontroller IC may be in electrical communication with the second PDcontroller IC.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the USB chargingsystem may include a thermistor electrically connected with at least onePD controller IC. The thermistor may be configured to reduce powerdelivery to the at least one charging port of the plurality of chargingports in response to a temperature exceeding a first predeterminedthreshold. The reduced power delivery to the at least one charging portof the plurality of charging ports may be maintained at an above-zerolevel until a temperature of the charging port is reduced below a secondpredetermined threshold.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the pluralityof power converters may be an AC to DC power converter or a DC to DCpower converter.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method for charginga plurality of electronic devices using a USB charging system includesproviding AC power from a power source to an AC/DC converter. The methodincludes receiving, at the AC/DC converter, the AC power from the powersource. The AC/DC converter includes a plurality of power converters anda plurality of power supply outputs electrically coupled to theplurality of power converters, respectively. Each of the plurality ofpower converters is configured to convert the AC power to a plurality ofdifferent DC output voltages. The method includes receiving, at theAC/DC converter, direct feedback from a logic circuit in directelectrical communication with the AC/DC converter, and outputting aparticular DC output voltage from the AC/DC converter in response to thedirect feedback received. The logic circuit is in electricalcommunication with a plurality of charging ports. The method includesdelivering the particular DC output voltage to each of the plurality ofelectronic devices respectively connected with each of the plurality ofcharging ports.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a first powerconverter of the plurality of power converters simultaneously outputs afirst output voltage different from a second output voltage output by asecond power converter of the plurality of power converters.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each respectiveelectronic device connected with each respective charging port of theplurality of charging ports may receive a same output voltage.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the pluralityof charging ports may be a USB Type-C charging port.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality ofoutput voltages may range from substantially 5 volts to substantially 20volts.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit mayinclude a first power delivery (PD) controller integrated circuit (IC)and a second PD controller IC, the first PD controller IC electricallyconnected with a first charging port of the plurality of charging portsand the second PD controller IC electrically connected with a secondcharging port of the plurality of charging ports. The first PDcontroller IC may be electrically connected with the second PDcontroller IC.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a thermistor may beelectrically connected with at least one PD controller IC. Thethermistor may be configured to reduce power delivery to the at leastone charging port of the plurality of charging ports in response to atemperature exceeding a first predetermined threshold. The reduced powerdelivery to the at least one charging port of the plurality of chargingports is maintained at an above-zero level until a temperature of thecharging port is reduced below a second predetermined threshold.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a firmware-upgradableUSB receptacle includes a USB receptacle having a logic circuitincluding at least one power delivery (PD) controller integrated circuit(IC). The logic circuit has a first memory storing firmware configuredto control the logic circuit. At least one USB charging port is incommunication with the logic circuit. The firmware stored on the firstmemory of the logic circuit is modified by communicably coupling adevice to the at least one USB charging port. The device has a processorand a second memory storing computer instructions configured to modifythe firmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit. Thefirmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit is modified bytransmitting computer instructions from the device to the logic circuit.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the device may be aSmartphone, a USB drive, a Tablet, or a computer. The Smartphone, USBdrive, tablet or computer may have a firmware update applicationthereon. The firmware update application is configured to modify thefirmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the at least one USBcharging port may be a USB Type-C charging port.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the device may becommunicably coupled to the at least one USB charging port through a USBcable. The USB cable may be a USB Type-C cable.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a system forwirelessly modifying firmware includes a USB receptacle having a logiccircuit including at least one power delivery (PD) controller integratedcircuit (IC). The logic circuit has a first memory storing firmwareconfigured to control the logic circuit. The logic circuit has a firstwireless antenna. The firmware stored on the first memory of the logiccircuit is modified by communicably coupling a device to the logiccircuit through a wireless connection. The device has a second wirelessantenna configured to communicate with the first wireless antenna of thelogic circuit. The device has a processor and a second memory storingcomputer instructions configured to modify the firmware stored on thefirst memory of the logic circuit. The firmware stored on the firstmemory of the logic circuit is modified by wirelessly transmittingcomputer instructions from the device to the logic circuit.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the first wirelessantenna of the logic circuit may communicate with the second wirelessantenna of the device through a Bluetooth or WiFi signal.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the device may be aSmartphone, a USB drive, a Tablet, or a computer. The device may have afirmware update application thereon. The firmware update application isconfigured to modify the firmware stored on the first memory of thelogic circuit.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a USB charging systemincludes an AC-DC power supply configured to output a plurality ofoutput voltages. A USB Type-A charging port is in electricalcommunication with the AC-DC power supply. The USB Type-A charging portis configured to provide a first output voltage to a first electronicdevice. A USB Type-C charging port is in electrical communication withthe AC-DC power supply. The USB Type-C charging port is configured toprovide a second output voltage to a second electronic device. The firstand second output voltages differ from each other. A voltage regulatoris in electrical communication with the AC-DC power supply and the USBType-A charging port. The voltage regulator is configured to maintainthe first output voltage provided by the USB Type-A charging port. Aswitch is in electrical communication with the AC-DC power supply andthe USB Type-A charging port. The switch is configured to bypass thevoltage regulator. A logic circuit is in electrical communication withthe voltage regulator and the switch. The logic circuit is configured toenable or disable the voltage regulator by opening or closing theswitch.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each respectiveelectronic device connected with each respective charging port mayreceive a different output voltage.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the first outputvoltage may be a fixed output voltage, and the second output voltage maybe a variable output voltage.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, voltages of theplurality of output voltages may range from substantially 5 volts tosubstantially 20 volts.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the voltage regulatormay be a linear voltage regulator or a DC-DC converter.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a USB charging systemincludes an AC-DC power supply configured to output a plurality ofoutput voltages. A first USB Type-C charging port is in electricalcommunication with the AC-DC power supply. The first USB Type-C chargingport is configured to provide a first output voltage to a firstelectronic device. A second USB Type-C charging port is in electricalcommunication with the AC-DC power supply. The second USB Type-Ccharging port is configured to provide a second output voltage to asecond electronic device. The first and second output voltages differfrom one another. A voltage regulator is in electrical communicationwith the AC-DC power supply and the first or second USB Type-C chargingports. The voltage regulator is configured to regulate the first orsecond output voltages of the first or second USB Type-C charging ports.A first switch is in electrical communication with the AC-DC powersupply and the first USB Type-C charging port. The first switch isconfigured to bypass the voltage regulator. A second switch iselectrically connected with the AC-DC power supply and the second USBType-C charging port. The second switch is configured to bypass thevoltage regulator. A logic circuit is in electrical communication withthe voltage regulator and the first and second switches. The logiccircuit is configured to enable or disable the voltage regulator byopening or closing the first or second switches.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a third switch may bein electrical communication with the AC-DC power supply and the firstUSB Type-C charging port. The third switch may be configured to activatethe voltage regulator. A fourth switch may be in electricalcommunication with the AC-DC power supply and the second USB Type-Ccharging port. The fourth switch may be configured to activate thevoltage regulator.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the first,second, third and fourth switches may be configured to be individuallyenabled or disabled by the logic circuit.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each respectiveelectronic device connected with each respective charging port mayreceive a different output voltage.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each respectiveelectronic device connected with each respective charging port mayreceive a different output voltage.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, voltages of theplurality of output voltages may range from substantially 5 volts tosubstantially 20 volts.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the voltage regulatormay be a linear voltage regulator or a DC-DC converter.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit isconfigured to regulate a wattage delivered to two or more charging portsof the plurality of charging ports. The logic circuit is configured todetect a temperature of two or more charging ports of the plurality ofcharging ports. The logic circuit is configured to reduce a wattagedelivered to a particular charging port of the plurality of chargingports if a temperature detected in the particular charging port of theplurality of charging ports exceeds a predetermined threshold.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a maximum wattagedeliverable to each charging port of the plurality of charging ports isfrom about 1 watt to about 100 watts.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality ofcharging ports includes a USB Type-A port, a USB Type-C port, or aLine-Voltage port.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a thermistor isconfigured to collect temperature data for the USB charging system andcommunicate the temperature data to the logic circuit.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit isconfigured to detect a current drawn by two or more charging ports ofthe plurality of charging ports (e.g., a current drawn by line voltageports). The logic circuit is configured to reduce a current drawn by aparticular charging port of the plurality of charging ports if atemperature detected in the particular charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports exceeds a predetermined threshold. and/or if a currentdrawn by a particular line voltage port exceeds a predeterminedthreshold

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a thermally conductivehousing is in thermal contact with the power supply, the plurality ofcharging ports and the logic circuit. The thermally conductive housingis configured to transfer heat away from at least one of the powersupply, the charging ports of the plurality of charging ports, or thelogic circuit to reduce a temperature of the USB charging system.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the thermallyconductive housing includes a metal, such as Aluminum.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit isconfigured to monitor a state of charge of a device connected with eachcharging port of the plurality of charging ports. The logic circuit isconfigured to regulate a wattage delivered to the device connected witheach charging port of the plurality of charging ports. The logic circuitis configured to reduce a wattage delivered to a first charging port ofthe plurality of charging ports when a state of charge of a first deviceconnected with the first charging port of the plurality of chargingports exceeds a predetermined threshold. The logic circuit is configuredto increase a wattage delivered to a second device connected with asecond charging port of the plurality of charging ports when the stateof the charge of the first device exceeds the predetermined threshold.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a maximum combinedwattage deliverable to the first and second charging ports may be about60 watts. The maximum combined wattage deliverable to the first andsecond charging ports may also be above or below 60 watts.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the reduced wattagedelivered to the first device connected with the first charging port ofthe plurality of charging ports is maintained at an above-zero level, bythe logic circuit, when the state of charge of the first device is belowa maximum state of charge for the first device.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the reduced wattagedelivered to the first device connected with the first charging port ofthe plurality of charging ports is maintained at 0 watts, by the logiccircuit, when the state of charge of the first device reaches a maximumstate of charge for the first device.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, when the state ofcharge of the first device reaches the maximum state of charge for thefirst device, the increased wattage delivered to the second device ismaintained at up to about 60 watts by the logic circuit. The increasedwattage may also be above or below 60 watts.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a first current sensoris connected with the first charging port. A second current sensor isconnected with the second charging port. The first current sensorcommunicates data of a first load current in the first current sensor tothe logic circuit. The second current sensor communicates data of asecond load current in the second current sensor to the logic circuit.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit isconfigured to receive the data of the first load current and the secondload current, and adjust the wattage delivered to the device connectedwith each charging port of the plurality of charging ports in real-time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more aspects of the present invention are particularly pointedout and distinctly claimed as examples in the claims at the conclusionof the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, andadvantages of the present invention may be more readily understood byone skilled in the art with reference being had to the followingdetailed description of several embodiments thereof, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like elements aredesignated by identical reference numerals throughout the several views,and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of the AC/DCconverter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a pair ofDC/DC buck converters of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a pair ofswitching elements of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5A depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a pairof USB power delivery controller integrated circuits of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5B depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a pairof USB power delivery controller integrated circuits of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a mastercontroller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of USBType-C power distribution connectors of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrative of the method of delivering power inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrative of the method of charging electronicdevices in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 depicts an example graph of battery percentage over time for twoelectronic devices, in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 depicts an example graph of power delivered to two electronicdevices over time, in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrative of the method of chargingelectronic devices in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a direct feedback system in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 14 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment ofswitching elements of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a pairof USB power delivery (PD) controller integrated circuits (IC) of FIG.13;

FIG. 16 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of theAC/DC converter of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a direct feedback system and thermistors inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 18 depicts exemplary mechanical and electrical connections betweena power board and a logic board in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view along lines 18 a-18 b of a mechanicalconnection between a power board and a logic board in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIGS. 20A and 20B each depict an exemplary system for upgrading firmwareof a USB receptacle in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 21 depicts an exemplary system for wirelessly upgrading firmware ofa USB receptacle in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a USB Type-A charging port, a USB Type-Ccharging port, a single AC-DC power supply and a single voltageregulator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of an exemplary algorithm employed by a logiccircuit of the USB charging systems of FIGS. 22 and 24;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of two USB Type-C charging ports and a singlevoltage regulator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 25 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a logic circuit configured to regulate atemperature of a plurality of charging ports in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 26 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a logic circuit configured to detect a flow ofcurrent and regulate a temperature of a plurality of charging ports inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 27 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a logic circuit configured to regulate atemperature of a plurality of charging ports, and a thermally conductivehousing in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 28 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a logic circuit configured to detect a flow ofcurrent and regulate a temperature of a plurality of charging ports, anda thermally conductive housing in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 29 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a logic circuit configured to regulate wattagesdelivered to electronic devices connected with each of a plurality ofcharging ports in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 30 depicts exemplary hysteresis bands in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure; and

FIGS. 31A, 31B, 31C, 31D and 31E depict an exemplary algorithmemployable by a USB power receptacle for dynamic load sharing.

The figures depict embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following description that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles of the present disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods forimplementing USB power delivery mechanisms with multiple charging ports.Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein below withreference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understoodthat the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosureand may be embodied in various forms. Well-known functions orconstructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the presentdisclosure in unnecessary detail. Therefore, specific structural andfunctional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted aslimiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representativebasis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ thepresent disclosure in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of thepresent disclosure, reference will now be made to the exemplaryembodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will beused to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that nolimitation of the scope of the present disclosure is thereby intended.Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive featuresillustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles ofthe present disclosure as illustrated herein, which would occur to oneskilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure,are to be considered within the scope of the present disclosure.

“About” or “approximately” or “substantially” as used herein may beinclusive of the stated value and means within an acceptable range ofvariation for the particular value as determined by one of ordinaryskill in the art, considering the measurement in question and the errorassociated with measurement of the particular quantity (e.g., thelimitations of the measurement system). For example, “about” or“substantially” may mean within one or more standard variations, orwithin ±30%, 20%, 10%, 5% of the stated value.

Descriptions of technical features or aspects of an exemplary embodimentof the present disclosure should typically be considered as availableand applicable to other similar features or aspects in another exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. Accordingly, technical featuresdescribed herein according to one exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be applicable to other exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure, and thus duplicative descriptions may be omittedherein.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described morefully below (e.g., with reference to the accompanying drawings). Likereference numerals may refer to like elements throughout thespecification and drawings.

Line voltage refers to a voltage, typically Alternating Current (AC),that is supplied to buildings/residences (e.g., electric light andpower), for example, 110 V AC, 115 V AC, 120 V AC, 125 V AC, 208 V AC,220 V AC, 230 V AC, 240 V AC, single or multiphase. Line voltage istypically made available to the end user standard plug/outletconfigurations standardized by the National Electrical Manufacturers'Association (NEMA) configurations. One such standardized configurationis a NEMA 5-15 configuration which denotes a nominal 125 V AC/15 Ampoutlet.

Low voltage refers to a voltage which is less than a certain threshold(50 Volts for example, AC or DC). This reduced voltage is typically usedfor communication, signaling, data/multimedia transmission, low voltagecharging, and the like. For the purposes of this application, the termlow voltage also includes optical transmission (although no electricalvoltage is actually transmitted by optical transmission).

Low voltage ports denote any suitable type of low voltage ports, suchas, but not limited, to Universal Serial Bus (USB),Audio/Video/Multimedia ports, Digital Visual Interface (DVI),Ethernet/data ports, High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), IEEE1394 (FireWire), Separate Video (S-Video), Video Graphics Array (VGA),Telephone, and the like, or any suitable combination thereof. For thepurposes of this application, low voltage ports can also include fiberoptic ports (although no electrical voltage is actually transmitted byfiber optic ports). USB ports can further be broken out into variousform factors such as Type A, Type B, Type C, Mini-A, Mini-B, Micro-A,Micro-B, or any other suitable form.

The USB power delivery systems and methods of the present disclosure canprovide power delivery charging capabilities to multiple ports. Thetotal power is shared when multiple devices are connected. It iscontemplated that the USB power delivery systems and methods of thepresent disclosure can have single or multiple ports by simply addingDC/DC sections and control logic. Most existing USB Type-C chargers aresingle port or dual port with no power distribution functionality. TheUSB Type-C power delivery systems and methods of the present disclosurecan provide full or partial power delivery voltages depending on thestatus of the devices connected to the USB power delivery systems.

FIG. 1 depicts a USB power delivery system architecture 100 inaccordance with the present disclosure. In an embodiment, thealternating current (AC) power source 110 supplies AC power to an AC/DCconverter 200. It is contemplated that the AC power source 110 can beany AC power source such as from a residential or commercial electricalsystem, from a solar power supply's inverter, an AC generator, or anyother suitable power supply source. The AC/DC converter 200 converts theAC voltage supplied by the power supply, for example 120 V AC, to alower level DC voltage, for example, 17 V DC.

Next, the DC voltage generated at the AC/DC converter 200 is processedby a DC/DC converter block 300. The DC/DC converter block 300 may stepdown the DC voltage. The DC/DC converter block 300 may include, forexample, a number of buck converters 302 a, 302 b as well as voltagecontrol logic 306. It is contemplated that other types of DC/DCconverters may be used such as, for example, linear regulators.

In an aspect of the present disclosure, the outputs 304 a, 304 b of theDC/DC converter block 300 supply power to a logic circuit 400 thatincludes switching elements 404 a, 404 b, USB power distribution (PD)integrated circuits (IC) 402 a, 402 b, and a master controller IC 406.The master controller IC 406 decides how much power to supply throughthe USB power delivery controller ICs 402 a, 402 b, to either of the twoUSB Type-C power distribution connectors 190 a, 190 b.

The USB power delivery system 100 advertises or publishes availablevoltage levels to devices connected to the connectors 190 a, 190 b,which, in turn, reply with requested voltage levels. The availablevoltage levels may be determined based on the charge levels of one ormore devices connected to either or both of the USB Type-C powerdistribution connectors 190 a, 190 b and the output power capacity ofthe USB power delivery system 100. The USB power delivery system 100then outputs voltages to either or both of the USB Type-C powerdistribution connectors 190 a, 190 b based on the voltage levelsrequested by the connected one or more devices.

The first USB power delivery controller IC 402 a, and the second USBpower delivery controller IC 402 b, are electrically coupled to themaster controller IC 406 and configured to selectively disabletransmission of electrical energy to corresponding connectors 190 a, 190b. This includes disabling transmission of electrical energy to aconnector 190 a, 190 b when a corresponding electronic device connectedto a connector 190 a, 190 b is fully charged or when an overcurrentcondition is detected.

The master controller IC 406 communicates with the voltage control logic306 to control the DC/DC buck boost converters 302 a, 302 b. Ultimately,the two or more USB Type-C connectors 190 s, 190 b are supplied powerfrom the logic circuit 400 for supplying power to devices connected tothese USB Type-C connectors 190 s, 190 b. It is contemplated thatdevices can be electric and/or electronic. In an embodiment, mechanicalterminals 170 and receptacles 180 a, 180 b may operate off of the samepower supply 110. It is contemplated that these receptacles 180 a, 180 bmay be used to supply AC power to a variety of items, for example,lights, TVs, radio, etc.

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic of an AC/DC converter 200 in accordance withthe present disclosure. The AC/DC converter 200 typically takes an inputfrom an AC power source 110 and processes it through the bridgerectifier 202. Bridge rectifier 202 converts AC to DC voltage byproviding full wave rectification from a two-wire AC input. The polarityof the output is the same regardless of the polarity of the input. TheDC signal created by the bridge rectifier 202 may have some amount ofripple on it, which is filtered out by filtering capacitors andinductors coupled to the output terminals of the bridge rectifier 202.The DC voltage is then stepped down with a transformer 204 and furtherfiltered by a filter 206. A flyback converter 208 may be used toregulate the DC voltage.

FIG. 3 depicts a schematic of a pair of DC/DC buck-boost converters 302a, 302 b, in accordance with the present disclosure. The regulatedvoltage produced by the AC/DC converter 200 is further processed by apair of buck-boost converters. A DC/DC buck-boost converter 302 a, 302 bis a type of DC/DC converter that can have an output voltage magnitudethat is either greater than or less than the input voltage magnitude.Typically, DC/DC buck-boost converters 302 a, 302 b utilize an internalPWM controller to support a wide range of output voltages, for example,3.3 V to 65 V.

FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B depict a schematic of a pair of switching elements404 a, 404 b, and a pair of USB power delivery controller ICs 402 a, 402b, in accordance with the present disclosure. The voltage VBUS (forexample, 5, 9, or 15 V DC) from the DC/DC buck-boost converters 302 a,302 b is provided to the switching element 404 a, 404 b, which arecontrolled by the USB power delivery controller ICs 402 a, 402 b byoutputting a gate control current. The USB power delivery controller ICs402 a, 402 b, may include a current sense amplifier, a high voltageregulator, overvoltage protection, overcurrent protection, and supplyswitch blocks. The USB power delivery controller ICs 402 a, 402 b alsomay provide Electro-static discharge (ESD) protection to the USB Type-Cpower distribution connectors 190 a, 190 b.

The USB power delivery controller ICs 402 a, 402 b can operate inaccordance with BC 1.2, Apple®, Qualcomm's® quick charge 4.0, andSamsung® AFC. In one embodiment, the USB power delivery controller ICs402 a, 402 b, can supply full power delivery charging capability tomultiple ports. When multiple devices are connected to the USB powerdelivery system 100, the total power that can be output from the USBpower delivery system 100 can be shared between those devices. Thus,full or partial power delivery voltages can be provided to the devices.It is contemplated that there are multiple USB Type-C power distributionconnectors 190 a, 190 b, that can share power delivery according to anappropriate ratio (e.g., based on a charge level of the devicesconnected to the connectors 190 a, 190 b) or supply one of theconnectors 190 a, 190 b full power delivery. It is contemplated thatother types of connectors, including other types of USB connectors maybe used.

FIG. 6 depicts a schematic of a master controller IC 406 in accordancewith the present disclosure. The master controller IC 406 determines thecharging voltage levels that can be supplied to one or more electronicdevices connected to one or more of the connectors 190 a, 190 b withoutexceeding the output power capacity of the USB power delivery system,and transmits the charging voltage levels to the one or more electronicdevices. When the master controller IC 406 receives the charging voltagelevels selected by the one or more electronic devices, the mastercontroller IC 406 communicates with the voltage control logic 306 ofFIG. 1 to cause the voltage control logic 306 to adjust the outputvoltages of the pair of DC/DC buck boost converters 302 a, 302 b basedon the charging voltage levels selected by the one or more electronicdevices.

In one embodiment, the master controller IC 406 can re-determine thevoltage levels for charging the first device and/or the second devicebased on further communications with the first device and/or the seconddevice; and output a first voltage at an updated first voltage leveland/or a second voltage at an updated second voltage level. In anotherembodiment, the master controller IC 406 communicates to the firstand/or second devices the charging voltage levels available through itsrespective low voltage port connections. The device charging voltage foreach device is determined by the master controller IC 406 as a functionof an available charging power and the voltage level for charging thefirst device and/or the second device. The USB power delivery controllerICs 402 a, 402 b handle all USB C protocols and performs functions suchas overcurrent protection.

In one embodiment, the master controller IC 406 can cause the USB powerdelivery system 100 to determine a priority of the first and seconddevices including determining which of the first device or the seconddevice is first connected to a charging system. In another embodiment,the master controller IC 406 causes the USB power delivery system 100 todetermine the priority of the first and second devices includingmeasuring, estimating, or deducing the charge level of the first deviceand the second device. The charging according to the priority includescharging the device having the lower charge level with a higher voltagelevel than the device having the higher charge level. As used herein,charge level refers to the level at which a rechargeable battery ischarged relative to full charge. It may also be referred to as state ofcharge.

In one embodiment, a first device, when connected to the first USBType-C power distribution connector 190 a, may request two thirds of thepower capacity of the USB power delivery system 100, and a seconddevice, when connected to the second USB Type-C connector 190 b, mayalso request two thirds of the power capacity of the USB power deliverysystem 100. The master controller IC 406 may determine that the firstdevice has priority and deliver the two thirds of the available power tothe first device, and only one third of the available power to thesecond device.

In another embodiment, a first device, when connected to the first USBType-C power distribution connector 190 a, may request two thirds of theavailable power, and a second device, when connected to the second USBType-C connector 190 b, may also request two thirds of the availablepower. The master controller IC 406 may determine that both devicesshould share power equally and deliver half of the available power tothe first device and the other half of the available power to the seconddevice. It is contemplated that any division of power between the twoUSB Type-C power distribution connectors 190 a, 190 b may be determinedby the master controller IC 406.

FIG. 7 depicts a schematic of USB Type-C power distribution connectors190 a, 190 b in accordance with the present disclosure. The USB Type-Cpower distribution connectors 190 a, 190 b connect with both the USBpower delivery system 100 and external devices. In an embodiment, theUSB Type-C power distribution connectors 190 a, 190 b conform to astandard configuration, for example, a double-sided connector with 24pins. The female connector may include four power pins and four groundpins, two differential pairs for high-speed USB data, four shieldeddifferential pairs for Enhanced SuperSpeed data, two Sideband Use (SBU)pins, and two Configuration Channel (CC) pins. The CC pins on the deviceare used to carry USB power distribution communications.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrative of a method of delivering power 800in accordance with the present disclosure. The method 800 includesvarious blocks described in an ordered sequence. However, those skilledin the art will appreciate that one or more blocks of the method 800 maybe performed in a different order, repeated, and/or omitted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Further, the belowdescription of the method 800 refers to various actions or tasksperformed by the master controller IC 406, but those skilled in the artwill appreciate that in some instances, the master controller IC 406performs the actions or tasks via one or more software applications,such as the application which could be firmware, executing on the mastercontroller IC 406.

The method may begin with the master controller IC 406 communicating orpublishing different voltage levels to first and second electronicdevices via respective first and second connectors 190 a, 190 b (block810). For example, a USB Type-C device, such as a mobile device or alaptop, may be connected to the first USB Type-C power distributionconnector 190 a. Then, the master controller IC 406 receives first andsecond voltage levels from the respective first and second electronicdevices via the respective first and second charging connectors (block820). The communication of the voltage levels may be conducted throughthe Configuration Channel (CC) pins of the USB connectors 190 a, 190 b.The second device may be different from the first device, with differentpower or charging requirements. For example, the first device couldrequire 2 watts and the second device could require 7 watts.

The master controller IC 406 then causes an input voltage to beconverted to the first and second output voltages having the selectedfirst and second voltage values, respectively (block 830). For example,the first electronic device may select +15 V DC, whereas the secondelectronic device may select +5 V DC. Thus, the input voltage, which maybe 120 V AC, gets converted via the pair of DC/DC buck-boost converters302 a, 302 b to +15 V DC and +5 V DC, respectively.

Finally, the master controller IC 406 controls the power supply(comprised of the USB power delivery controller ICs 402 a, 402 b and theDC/DC converter block 300) to output a first voltage at the receivedfirst voltage level to the first electronic device and output the secondvoltage at the received second voltage level to the second electronicdevice (block 840). For example, the master controller IC 406 maydetermine that the first electronic device has requested +5 V DC, andcommunicate that information to both the USB power delivery controllerIC 402 a and the DC/DC converter block 300, which may adjust its outputaccording to this request. The master controller IC 406 may alsodetermine that the second electronic device requested +15 V DC. Thatinformation is communicated to the USB power delivery controller IC 402b and the DC/DC converter block 300, which may adjust its outputaccording to this request.

It is contemplated that the master controller IC 406 could determine thepriority levels of the devices, and set the maximum power to be suppliedto the devices and the corresponding sets of voltage levels to bepublished to the devices, accordingly. This priority can be set, forexample, by determining which device was connected first, by determiningwhich one was closer to being fully charged (e.g., by deducing thecharge level), or by a communication via USB communications. It iscontemplated that additional charging ports can be utilized by addingadditional logic and DC sections.

In another embodiment, the USB power delivery system 100 can deduce thecharge level of the connected electronic devices by measuring the chargetime and/or the current being provided to the connected electronicdevices and analyzing the measurements in view of charging profilesprovided by the connected electronic devices. Based on the deduction,the USB power delivery system 100 can reprioritize the charging of theelectronic devices. In another embodiment, reprioritizing may be basedon how long a single electronic device has been plugged into a USBType-C power distribution connector 190 a, 190 b. For example, if anelectronic device has been plugged in for a substantial period, theelectronic device is likely to be substantially charged and all or alarge portion of output charging power may be reallocated to a morerecently plugged in electronic device.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrative of a method of charging electronicdevices 900 in accordance with the present disclosure. The method maybegin with the USB power delivery system 100 publishing availablevoltages (e.g., 5V, 9V, and 15V) to two devices connected to theconnectors 190 a, 190 b (block 910). Next, the USB power delivery system100 determines the battery charge level of the two devices based on thecurrent draw (block 920). Optionally, the USB power delivery system 100may also determine the charge level based on the amount of time thedevice has been charging (block 930). For example, a timer starts when adevice is plugged into a first connector 190 a. Then another timerstarts when a device is plugged into the second charging port 190 b. TheUSB power delivery system 100 can then determine which device has thehigher battery charge level based on charging profiles of the devices(e.g., the charging profiles illustrated in FIG. 10 and/or FIG. 11) andthe timers.

Next, depending on which device has a higher battery charge level (block940), the USB power delivery system 100 prioritizes which devicereceives more power. If the second device is determined at block 940 tohave a higher battery charge level, then the USB power delivery system100 directs more power to the first device than to the second device bychanging the voltage values that are published to each device (block950). If the first device is determined at block 940 to have a higherbattery charge level, then the USB power delivery system 100 directsmore power to the second device than to the first device by changing thevoltage values that are published to each device (block 960).

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a methodof charging devices in accordance with the present disclosure. Themethod may begin with a first device being plugged into the first USBType-C power distribution connector 190 a of the USB power deliverysystem 100. In an embodiment, the current supplied to the first deviceis measured using a current sense resistor (block 1202). Next, themaster controller IC 406 determines whether a second device is pluggedin during the charging of the first device (block 1204). If no seconddevice is plugged in during the charging of the first device, then theUSB power delivery system 100 allocates or continues to allocate themaximum amount of power to the first device by publishing all availablevoltage levels to the first device (block 1206).

If a second device is plugged in during the charging of the firstdevice, then the USB power delivery system 100 measures the currentsupplied to the first device again and measures the current supplied tothe second device (block 1208).

Next, the USB power delivery system 100 determines whether there is asignificant difference between the two current measurements for thefirst device (block 1210). The significant difference may be a thresholddifference indicating that the charging of the first device hastransitioned from stage A to stage B of the charging cycle. If there isno significant difference between the current measurements for the firstdevice (indicating that the charging of the first device has nottransitioned from stage A to stage B of the charging cycle), the USBpower delivery system 100 supplies at least equal power allocation tothe first electronic device and the second electronic device (block1212). Charging power is allocated equally to the first and seconddevices by publishing the same sets of available voltage values to thefirst and second devices. The published sets of available voltage valuesmay include a maximum voltage value that, if supplied to both the firstand second devices, would be within the charging capacity of the USBpower delivery system 100.

If there is a significant difference between the current measurementsfor the first device, the USB power delivery system 100 determines thatthe first device has entered stage B (trickle charging) as depicted inFIG. 11 and allocates more power to the second device than to the firstdevice (block 1214). This may be accomplished by publishing highervoltage voltages to the second device than to the first device.

In embodiments where the USB power delivery system 100 is configured tosupply a constant current to the first and second electronic devices,different charging powers may be allocated between first and secondelectronic devices by publishing different sets of voltage values to thefirst and second electronic devices corresponding to those differentcharging powers.

FIG. 13 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a direct feedback system in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 14 depicts a schematicdiagram of an example embodiment of switching elements of FIG. 13. FIG.15 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of a pair of USBpower delivery (PD) controller integrated circuits (IC) of FIG. 13. FIG.16 depicts a schematic diagram of an example embodiment of the AC/DCconverter of FIG. 13.

Referring to FIGS. 13-16, according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure, a universal serial bus (USB) charging system 1300 includes apower supply 110 including a plurality of power converters (e.g., AC/DCpower converters 200) and a plurality of power supply outputselectrically coupled to the plurality of power converters, respectively.Each of the plurality of power converters is configured to convert aninput voltage (e.g., 20 VAC) to a plurality of output voltages (e.g., 5,9 or 15 VDC). A plurality of charging ports (e.g., USB port 190 a and/orUSB port 190 b) are electrically connected with the plurality of powersupply outputs, respectively. Each of the plurality of charging ports isconfigured to provide an output voltage selected from the plurality ofoutput voltages to an electronic device. A logic circuit 400 is inelectrical communication with the power supply and the plurality ofcharging ports. The logic circuit 400 is configured to provide directfeedback to the power supply to output a particular output voltage ofthe plurality of output voltages to the plurality of charging ports.Thus, the DC/DC converter block 300 described in more detail above maybe omitted. Additionally, as described in more detail below, the masterIC 406 may be omitted. Accordingly, a size, weight and manufacturingcost of the USB charging system 1300 may be reduced, while stillmaintaining a desired output power at the charging ports.

As an example, the electronic device receiving the output voltage may bea Smartphone, computer, Tablet or any other electronic device. Theoutput voltage may be used to charge a battery of the electronic device.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each respectiveelectronic device connected with each respective charging port of theplurality of charging ports may receive a same output voltage. Forexample, a single desired output voltage may be output to the logiccircuit 400 and each of a plurality of devices respectively connectedwith a plurality of charging ports may receive a same output power.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the pluralityof charging ports may be a USB Type-C charging port. According to anaspect of the present disclosure, voltages of the plurality of outputvoltages may range from about 5 volts to about 20 volts. However,exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto,and other desired voltages may be output to the charging ports. As anexample, logic circuit 400 may provide direct feedback to the powersupply to output one of 5, 9 or 15 volts of direct current.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the pluralityof power converters may be an AC to DC power converter. Each of theplurality of output voltages may be a DC output voltage.

An exemplary DC voltage to watts calculation formula is provided below,whish Power P is in watts (W), Voltage V is in volts (V) and current Iis in amps (A):

P _((W)) =V _((V)) ×I _((A))

As an example, an output voltage of 5 Volts (direct current DC) at acurrent of 6 Amps provides 30 Watts according to the above-notedformula.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit mayinclude a first power delivery (PD) controller integrated circuit (IC)402 a and a second PD controller IC 402 b. The first PD controller IC402 a may be electrically connected with a first charging port 190 a ofthe plurality of charging ports. The second PD controller IC 402 b maybe electrically connected with a second charging port 190 b of theplurality of charging ports.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the first PDcontroller IC 402 a may be electrically connected with the second PDcontroller IC 402 b. The master IC 406 may be omitted and the first PDcontroller IC 402 a may be directly connected with the second PDcontroller IC 402 b.

As an example, the logic circuit 400 may include the Cypress® EZ-PD™CCG3PA USB Type-C port controller. Thus, the output voltage received atthe logic circuit may range from 3.0V to 24.5V DC, and the logic circuit400 may tolerate 30V of output voltage. Thus, the output voltage mayrange from 3.0V DC to 30V DC.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method for charginga plurality of electronic devices using a USB charging system includesproviding AC power from a power source 110 to an AC/DC converter 200.The method includes receiving, at the AC/DC converter 200, the AC powerfrom the power source 100. The AC/DC converter 200 includes a pluralityof power converters and a plurality of power supply outputs electricallycoupled to the plurality of power converters, respectively. Each of theplurality of power converters is configured to convert the AC power to aplurality of different DC output voltages. The method includesreceiving, at the power source 100 (e.g., at the AC/DC converter 200),direct feedback from a logic circuit 400 in direct electricalcommunication with the AC/DC converter 200, and outputting a particularDC output voltage from the AC/DC converter 200 in response to the directfeedback received. The logic circuit 400 is in electrical communicationwith a plurality of charging ports (e.g., any of USB charging ports 190a and/or 190 b, Line-Voltage Ports 2591 a and/or 2591 b, and/oradditional charging ports having substantially the same configuration).The method includes delivering the particular DC output voltage to eachof the plurality of electronic devices respectively connected with eachof the plurality of charging ports.

The method of charging a plurality of electronic devices according to anaspect of the present disclosure includes detecting, by the logiccircuit 400, a temperature of two or more charging ports and reducing awattage delivered to a particular charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports if a temperature detected in the particular charging portof the plurality of charging ports exceeds a predetermined threshold.The reduced wattage (e.g., reduced to below 30 watts) delivered to theparticular charging port of the plurality of charging ports may bemaintained at an above-zero level until a temperature of the particularcharging port of the plurality of charging ports is reduced below asecond predetermined threshold. Multiple temperature thresholds can beemployed, each indicating a reduced wattage delivered to the particularcharging port of the plurality of charging ports. A supply of power to aparticular charging port may also be completely cut off and reduced tozero if a predetermined temperature threshold is reached, or if apredetermined threshold is reached multiple times within a predeterminedtime period.

Alternatively, or in conjunction with detecting a temperature of two ormore charging ports, the logic circuit 400 can detect a current drawn bytwo or more charging ports of the plurality of charging ports (e.g., acurrent drawn by each line voltage port) and reduce a current drawn by aparticular charging port of the plurality of charging ports if atemperature determined in the particular charging port of the pluralityof charging ports exceeds a predetermined threshold and/or if a currentdrawn by a particular line voltage port exceeds a predeterminedthreshold.

The temperature in a particular charging port may also be reduced usinga thermally conductive housing (see, e.g., thermally conductive housings2701 or 2801 in FIGS. 27 and 28, respectively) in thermal contact withthe plurality of charging ports. The thermally conductive housingtransfers heat away from the charging ports of the plurality of chargingports to reduce a temperature of the charging ports of the plurality ofcharging ports. As an example, the thermally conductive housing may havea molecular structure configured to draw heat along the directionalarrows illustrated in FIGS. 27-28. The molecular structure of thethermally conductive housing may draw heat along a path of leastresistance away from the charging ports to reduce the temperature of thecharging ports. The thermally conductive housing may include or beformed of aluminum. The thermally conductive housing may be in thermalcontact with the power supply 110, the plurality of charging ports andthe logic circuit 400. The thermally conductive housing is configured totransfer heat away from at least one of the power supply 110, thecharging ports of the plurality of charging ports, or the logic circuit400 to reduce a temperature of the USB charging system (e.g., USBcharging system 2700 or 2800). The thermally conductive housing may beconfigured to transfer heat away from any suitable heat generating, orheat retaining component, to reduce a temperature of any other suitablecomponent or to reduce the temperature of the device as a whole.

As an example, the electronic device receiving the output voltage may bea Smartphone, computer, Tablet or any other electronic device. Theoutput voltage may be used to charge a battery of the electronic device.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each respectiveelectronic device connected with each respective charging port of theplurality of charging ports may receive a same output voltage. Forexample, a single desired output voltage may be output to the logiccircuit 400 and each of a plurality of devices respectively connectedwith a plurality of charging ports may receive a same output power.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the pluralityof charging ports may be a USB Type-C charging port. According to anaspect of the present disclosure, voltages of the plurality of outputvoltages may range from substantially 5 volts to substantially 20 volts.However, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are not limitedthereto, and other desired voltages may be output to the charging ports.As an example, logic circuit 400 may provide direct feedback to thepower supply to output one of 5, 9 or 15 volts of direct current.

As an example, an output voltage of 5 Volts (direct current DC) at acurrent of 6 Amps provides 30 Watts according to the above-notedformula.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit mayinclude a first power delivery (PD) controller integrated circuit (IC)402 a and a second PD controller IC 402 b. The first PD controller IC402 a may be electrically connected with a first charging port 190 a ofthe plurality of charging ports. The second PD controller IC 402 b maybe electrically connected with a second charging port 190 b of theplurality of charging ports.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the first PDcontroller IC 402 a may be electrically connected with the second PDcontroller IC 402 b. The master IC 406 may be omitted and the first PDcontroller IC 402 a may be directly connected with the second PDcontroller IC 402 b.

As an example, the logic circuit 400 may include the Cypress® EZ-PD™ USBType-C port controller. Thus, the output voltage received at the logiccircuit may range from 3.0V to 24.5V DC, and the logic circuit 400 maytolerate 30V of output voltage.

FIG. 16 depicts an exemplary schematic of an AC/DC converter 200 inaccordance with the present disclosure. The AC/DC converter 200typically takes an input from an AC power source 110 and processes itthrough the bridge rectifier 202. Bridge rectifier 202 converts AC to DCvoltage by providing full wave rectification from a two-wire AC input.The polarity of the output is the same regardless of the polarity of theinput. The DC signal created by the bridge rectifier 202 may have someamount of ripple on it, which is filtered out by filtering capacitorsand inductors coupled to the output terminals of the bridge rectifier202. The DC voltage is then stepped down with a transformer 204 andfurther filtered by a filter 206. A flyback converter 208 may be used toregulate the DC voltage.

FIG. 17 depicts a block diagram of a USB power delivery systemarchitecture including a direct feedback system and thermistors inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 17, according to an aspect of the present disclosure,a USB charging system 1700 may include a thermistor (e.g., thermistor1701 or thermistor 1702) electrically connected with at least one PDcontroller IC (e.g., 402 a or 402 b). The USB charging system 1700 maybe substantially the same as the USB charging system 1300 described inmore detail above, and thus duplicative descriptions may be omittedbelow. The thermistor may be configured to reduce power delivery to theat least one charging port of the plurality of charging ports inresponse to a temperature exceeding a first predetermined threshold. Thereduced power delivery to the at least one charging port of theplurality of charging ports may be maintained at an above-zero leveluntil a temperature of the charging port is reduced below a secondpredetermined threshold. Thus, use of the thermistor may prevent abinary on/off power delivery scheme in which power is completely cut offin the event of excess heat generation. As a result, a reduced poweroutput may be applied to a USB charging port while a temperature levelis reduced. This may allow continuous charging to occur (at a reducedrate) for a connected device, even when a temperature above apredetermined threshold occurs. As a result, charging times of theconnected device may be reduced, and overall power use efficiency may beincreased when compared with a binary on/off power delivery scheme.

FIG. 18 depicts exemplary mechanical and electrical connections betweena power board and a logic board in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view alonglines 18 a-18 b of a mechanical connection between a power board and alogic board in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19, a mechanical connection is illustratedbetween a power board 1902 and a logic board 1901. The mechanicalconnection is formed by a projection 1903 extending from the power board1902 through an aperture in the logic board 1901. Thus, strength andrigidity of a mechanical connection between the power board 1902 and thelogic board 1901 may be increased. This may prevent movement between theboards, thus decreasing a failure rate of connections between theboards.

Referring to FIG. 18, an electrical connection between the power board1902 and the logic board 1901 formed through a post may be divided intoa split connection (i.e., two separated electrical connections) in asingle post. For example, a first electrical connection 1801 may beseparated from a second electrical connection 1802 between the powerboard 1902 and the logic board 1901 by a first slit 1803 and a secondsplit 1804 in the post. Thus, two separate electrical connections may beformed in a relatively small amount of space. Thus, a size of the powerboard 1902 and/or the logic board 1901 may be reduced, and an overallsize of a USB receptacle employing the power board 1902 and the logicboard 1901 may be reduced.

FIGS. 20A and 20B each depict an exemplary system for upgrading firmwareof a USB receptacle in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure. FIG. 21 depicts an exemplary system for wirelessly upgradingfirmware of a USB receptacle in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the disclosure.

As an example, the logic circuit 2006 described in more detail belowwith reference to FIGS. 20A, 20B and 21 may include the Cypress® EZ-PD™CCG3PA USB Type-C port controller. Thus, the logic circuit may have afully programmable power supply mode, and firmware that may be modifiedand custom tailored, as desired. Unless otherwise specified below, thelogic circuit 2006 described in more detail below may have substantiallythe same configuration as the logic circuit 400 described in more detailabove, and thus duplicative descriptions may be omitted below. Unlessotherwise specified below, the USB charging port 2008 described in moredetail below may have substantially the same configuration as thecharging ports (e.g., 190 a and/or 190 b) described in more detailabove, and thus duplicative descriptions may be omitted below.

Referring to FIG. 20A, according to an aspect of the present disclosure,a system for modifying firmware includes a USB receptacle having a logiccircuit 2006 including at least one power delivery (PD) controllerintegrated circuit (IC) 2007. The logic circuit 2006 has a first memorystoring firmware configured to control the logic circuit 2006. At leastone USB charging port 2008 is in communication with the logic circuit2006. However, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are notlimited to a single USB charging port. For example, as described herein,any number of desired charging ports may be included in the USBreceptacle and may be controlled by the logic circuit 2006.

The firmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit 2006 ismodified by communicably coupling a device 2001 to the at least one USBcharging port 2008. While the device may be a Smartphone or a laptopcomputer, exemplary embodiment are not limited thereto and other devicessuch as a tablet, desktop computer or other desired devices may beemployed to update firmware, as described herein. The device 2001 has aprocessor and a second memory storing computer instructions configuredto modify the firmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit2006. The firmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit 2006is modified by transmitting computer instructions from the device 2001to the logic circuit 2006.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the device 2001 mayinclude a device operating system 2003 configured to control thefunctionality of the device 2001 and may include hardware (e.g., Type-Ccontroller hardware) 2004 configured to interface with and control atransfer of a firmware modification from the device 2001 to the logiccircuit 2006.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the device 2001 may bea Smartphone, a USB drive, a Tablet, or a computer. The Smartphone, USBdrive, tablet or computer may have a firmware update applicationthereon. The firmware update application is configured to modify thefirmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit 2006. Thus, thedevice 2001 may be able to access and modify firmware of the logiccircuit 2006 without the use of external or specialized hardware betweenthe device 2001 and the logic circuit 2006. This may be achieved bydirectly accessing the logic circuit 2006 using any device that iscapable of connecting and interfacing with a USB charging port of theUSB receptacle including the logic circuit 2006.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the USB charging portmay be a USB Type-C charging port.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the device may becommunicably coupled to the at least one USB charging port through a USBcable. The USB cable may be a USB Type-C cable. The USB Type-C cable maybe a generic cable that does not include specialized hardware configuredto interface with the logic circuit 2006.

Referring to FIG. 20B, the device 2001 may be communicably coupled tothe USB charging port 2008 of the logic circuit 2006 via an externalhardware module 2010. The hardware module 2010 may include a cable 2009connected with the device 2001 and a USB cable connected with the USBcharging port 2008. The external hardware 2010 may include a processorand a memory storing computer instructions thereon. The computerinstructions stored on the external hardware may be configured to modifythe firmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit 2006.

A system and method for wirelessly updating firmware is described inmore detail below. Unless otherwise specified below, the logic circuit2106 described in more detail below may be substantially the same as thelogic circuit 2006 described in more detail above, and thus duplicativedescriptions may be omitted below. Unless otherwise specified below, thedevice 2101 described in more detail below may be substantially the sameas the device 2001 described in more detail above, and thus duplicativedescriptions may be omitted below.

Referring to FIG. 21, according to an aspect of the present disclosure,a system for wirelessly modifying firmware includes a USB receptaclehaving a logic circuit 2106 including at least one power delivery (PD)controller integrated circuit (IC) 2107. The logic circuit 2106 has afirst memory storing firmware configured to control the logic circuit2106. The logic circuit 2106 has a first wireless antenna 2111. Thefirmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit 2106 ismodified by communicably coupling a device 2101 to the logic circuitthrough a wireless connection 2105. The device 2101 has a secondwireless antenna 2110 configured to communicate with the first wirelessantenna 2111 of the logic circuit 2106. The device 2101 has a processorand a second memory storing computer instructions configured to modifythe firmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit 2106. Thefirmware stored on the first memory of the logic circuit 2106 ismodified by wirelessly transmitting computer instructions from thedevice 2101 to the logic circuit 2106.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the USB receptacleincluding the logic circuit 2106 may also include a USB charging port2108 in communication with the logic circuit 2106. The device 2101 mayinclude a device operating system 2103 configured to control thefunctionality of the device 2101 and may include hardware (e.g., Type-Ccontroller hardware) 2104 configured to interface with and control atransfer of a firmware modification from the device 2101 to the logiccircuit 2106.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the first wirelessantenna 2111 of the logic circuit 2106 may communicate with the secondwireless antenna 2110 of the device 2101 through a Bluetooth or WiFisignal. Thus, the wireless antennas described herein may be Bluetoothand/or WiFi capable wireless antennas. Alternatively, the wirelessantennas described herein may communicate with a cellular communicationnetwork and may pull down firmware updates from the cloud and modify thefirmware of the logic circuit 2106 using a firmware modification pulleddown from the cloud and transferred to the logic circuit 2106.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the device 2101 may bea Smartphone, a USB drive, a Tablet, or a computer. The device may havea USB firmware update application 2102 thereon. The firmware updateapplication 2102 is configured to modify the firmware stored on thefirst memory of the logic circuit 2106. Thus, the firmware of the logiccircuit 2106 may be updated wirelessly without a connection with a USBport in communication with the logic circuit 2106.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a USB Type-A charging port, a USB Type-Ccharging port, a single AC-DC power supply and a single voltageregulator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 22 depicts a relatively high power USB charger receptacle (e.g.,with an AC-DC power supply providing an output voltage of greater than 5volts) with the ability to charge devices with multiple output voltagesthrough a USB Type-A port or a USB Type-C port. The USB Type-C port willmeet the USB PD specification and be used to charge devices at multipleoutput voltages for an output voltage of relatively high power (e.g.,above 5 volts and as high as substantially 20 volts). As an example, aconstant 5 volt output voltage may be provided by the USB Type-A port,while a higher output voltage is provided by the USB Type-C port.

Referring to FIG. 22, according to an aspect of the present disclosure,a USB charging system includes an AC-DC power supply 2201 configured tooutput a plurality of output voltages. A USB Type-A charging port 2202is electrically connected with the AC-DC power supply 2201. The USBType-A charging port 2202 is configured to provide a first outputvoltage to a first electronic device. A USB Type-C charging port 2203 iselectrically connected with the AC-DC power supply 2201. The USB Type-Ccharging port 2203 is configured to provide a second output voltage to asecond electronic device. A voltage regulator 2204 is electricallyconnected with the AC-DC power supply 2201 and the USB Type-A chargingport 2202. The voltage regulator 2204 is configured to maintain thefirst output voltage provided by the USB Type-A charging port 2202. Aswitch 2205 is electrically connected with the AC-DC power supply 2201and the USB Type-A charging port 2202. The switch 2205 is configured tobypass the voltage regulator 2204. A logic circuit (see, e.g., FIG. 13)is in electrical communication with the voltage regulator 2204 and theswitch 2205. The logic circuit is configured to enable or disable thevoltage regulator 2204 by opening or closing the switch 2205.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each respectiveelectronic device connected with each respective charging port (e.g.,ports 2202 or 2203) may receive a different output voltage. Voltages ofthe plurality of output voltages may range from substantially 5 volts tosubstantially 20 volts.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the first outputvoltage may be a fixed output voltage (e.g., 5 volts), and the secondoutput voltage may be a variable output voltage (e.g. a voltage of fromabove 5 volts to substantially 20 volts). The variable output voltagemay be determined by the electronic device connected with the USB Type-Cport 2203.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the voltage regulatormay be a linear voltage regulator or a DC-DC converter.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of two USB Type-C charging ports and a singlevoltage regulator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 24 depicts two independent voltage USB Type-C ports with a singleDC-DC converter stage. This will allow the AC to DC power supply outputvoltage to be higher than the output voltage of one of the USB ports.The AC to DC power supply will be connected to a voltage regulator(e.g., a DC to DC converter or a linear voltage regulator) and one ormore switches to the USB ports. This will allow the receptacle to havetwo different DC charging voltages at the same time. The DC to DCconverter or linear voltage regulator and the switches will becontrolled by the same microcontroller to verify that there is nevermore than the safe charging voltage at the USB port. The microcontrollerwill also verify that the receptacle will never advertise a highercharging power than the AC to DC power supply can provide. While two USBType-C charging ports are illustrated and described, exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto, andadditional charging ports may be employed.

Referring to FIG. 24, according to an aspect of the present disclosure,a USB charging system includes an AC-DC power supply 2401 configured tooutput a plurality of output voltages. A first USB Type-C charging port2402 is electrically connected with the AC-DC power supply 2401. Thefirst USB Type-C charging port 2402 is configured to provide a firstoutput voltage to a first electronic device. A second USB Type-Ccharging port 2403 is electrically connected with the AC-DC power supply2401. The second USB Type-C charging port 2403 is configured to providea second output voltage to a second electronic device. A voltageregulator 2404 is electrically connected with the AC-DC power supply2401 and the first or second USB Type-C charging ports 2402 or 2403. Thevoltage regulator 2404 is configured to regulate the first or secondoutput voltages of the first or second USB Type-C charging ports 2402 or2403. A first switch 2405 is electrically connected with the AC-DC powersupply 2401 and the first USB Type-C charging port 2402. The firstswitch 2405 is configured to bypass the voltage regulator 2404. A secondswitch 2406 is electrically connected with the AC-DC power supply 2401and the second USB Type-C charging port 2403. The second switch 2406 isconfigured to bypass the voltage regulator 2404. A logic circuit (see,e.g., FIG. 13) is in electrical communication with the voltage regulator2404 and the first and second switches 2405 and 2406. The logic circuitis configured to enable or disable the voltage regulator 2404 by openingor closing the first or second switches 2405 or 2406.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a third switch 2407may be electrically connected with the AC-DC power supply 2401 and thefirst USB Type-C charging port 2402. The third switch 2407 may beconfigured to activate the voltage regulator 2404. A fourth switch 2408may be electrically connected with the AC-DC power supply 2401 and thesecond USB Type-C charging port 2403. The fourth switch 2408 may beconfigured to activate the voltage regulator 2404.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, each of the first,second, third and fourth switches 2405-2408 may be configured to beindividually enabled or disabled by the logic circuit.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of an exemplary algorithm employed by a logiccircuit of the USB charging systems of FIGS. 22 and 24.

Referring to FIG. 23, an exemplary software flow chart for control ofthe USB Type A and Type C ports with independent voltages isillustrated. Independent voltages may be achieved by providing a DC-DCconverter parallel to a pass-through switch. When the voltage at theoutput of power supply is greater than 5V (safe limit for Type-A), theDC-DC converter is used to convert the higher voltage to 5V for theType-A port. If voltage at the output of power supply is 5V, then thepass-through switch is used to supply 5V to USB Type A.

Referring again to FIG. 17, and to FIGS. 25-28, USB charging systems2500, 2600, 2700 and 2800 are described. The USB charging systems 2500,2600, 2700 and 2800 may be substantially the same as the USB chargingsystems 1300 or 1700 described in more detail above unless otherwiseindicated, and thus duplicative descriptions may be omitted below.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit 400is configured to regulate a wattage delivered to two or more chargingports of the plurality of charging ports (e.g., any of USB chargingports 190 a and/or 190 b, and/or additional charging ports havingsubstantially the same configuration). The plurality of charging portsdescribed herein may include a USB Type-A port, or a USB Type-C port, ora Line-Voltage port (2591 a and/or 2591) in any desired combination. Thelogic circuit 400 is configured to detect a temperature of two or morecharging ports of the plurality of charging ports. The logic circuit 400is configured to reduce a wattage delivered to a particular chargingport of the plurality of charging ports if a temperature detected in theparticular charging port of the plurality of charging ports exceeds apredetermined threshold. The logic circuit 400 may be in electricalcommunication with any of thermistors 2501, 2502, 2503 and/or 2504. Thethermistors are configured to detect a temperature of each charging portand communicate the detected temperature to the logic circuit 400. Thethermistors 2501, 2502, 2503 and 2504 may be substantially the same asthe thermistors (e.g., thermistor 1701 or thermistor 1702) describedabove with reference to FIG. 17 unless otherwise indicated, and thusduplicative descriptions may be omitted herein. Instead of thermistors,any suitable temperature sensors may be used, non-limiting examples ofwhich are thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors (RTDs),silicon bandgap temperature sensors. Additionally, a temperature sensormay be integral to one or more integrated circuit chips, controllers,logic circuits, or the like.

As an example, a maximum wattage deliverable to each charging port ofthe plurality of charging ports is at least 30 watts. Thus, a wattage inexcess of 30 watts may be applied to one or more of the charging portsto relatively rapidly charge an electronic device connected with aparticular charging port. The systems and methods described herein allowfor an increased wattage to be applied (e.g., in excess of 30 watts) toreduce a charging time of an electronic device, while also dynamicallyreducing the wattage applied for some periods of time to maintain adesired temperature at the charging port. This allows a connectedelectronic device to be charged in a minimal amount of time, while alsoregulating a temperature of the corresponding charging port (e.g., toprevent overheating or exceeding a permitted temperature threshold). Asdescribed herein, reducing the power applied to charging port below 30watts, but above 0 watts, allows the electronic device to be charged ata reduced rate, while allowing the temperature of the correspondingcharging port to be reduced. As described herein, the temperature of aparticular charging port may be reduced through passive and/or activeprocesses. For example, passive cooling may be employed by using athermally conductive housing, and active cooling may be employed byusing a fan configured to blow air within, or exhaust from, a chargingsystem described herein.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the thermistors 2501,2502, 2503 and 2504 are each configured to collect temperature data forthe USB charging system (e.g., USB charging systems 2500, 2600, 2700 or2800) and communicate the temperature data to the logic circuit 400.

The logic circuit 400 may control a combination of USB Type C ports(e.g., 2 USB Type C Ports 190 a, 190 b, as illustrated), Line-VoltagePorts (e.g., 2 Line-Voltage Ports 2591 a, 2591 b), and/or USB Type Aports (not shown).

As an example, 30 watts may be provided to one or more of the USB Type Cports (e.g., an output voltage of 5 Volts (direct current DC) at acurrent of 6 Amps provides 30 Watts). However, power greater than 30watts may be provided to one or more of the USB Type C ports (e.g., byincreasing the output voltage above 5 Volts, or the current above 6Amps).

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit 400is configured to detect a current drawn by two or more charging ports ofthe plurality of charging ports. The logic circuit 400 is configured toreduce a current drawn by a particular charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports if a temperature determined in the particular chargingport of the plurality of charging ports exceeds a predeterminedthreshold. Detecting a current drawn by two or more charging ports maybe performed as an alternative method to determining a temperature oftwo or more charging ports, or may be employed simultaneously withdirectly measuring a temperature of each charging port. The currentdrawn by each charging port may be determined using current sensors2601, 2602, 2603 and/or 2604. The current sensors are each in electricalcommunication with the logic circuit 400. Each charging port may beconnected with both a thermistor and a current sensor.

As an example, each of the current sensors 2601, 2602, 2603 and 2604 maybe a coil (e.g. a toroid coil), Hall Effect sensor, or a voltage over aknown resistance (e.g. a shunt).

Referring particularly to FIGS. 27-28, a thermally conductive housing(e.g., thermally conductive housing 2701 or 2801) is in thermal contactwith the plurality of charging ports. The thermally conductive housingis configured to transfer heat away from the charging ports of theplurality of charging ports to reduce a temperature of the chargingports of the plurality of charging ports.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the thermallyconductive housing includes a metal or other high thermal conductivitymaterial. The thermally conductive housing can passively transfer heatalong a desired direction through conduction and/or convection. As anexample, heat may be transferred through a metal housing initiallythrough conduction and subsequently through convection.

As an example, the thermally conductive housing may have a molecularstructure arranged to draw heat (e.g., to passively draw heat) along thedirectional arrows illustrated in FIGS. 27-28. The molecular structureof the thermally conductive housing may draw heat along a path of leastresistance away from the charging ports to reduce the temperature of thecharging ports. For example, a combination of metals having differentthermal conductivity characteristics may be included in the thermallyconductive housing to control a path of least resistance along whichheat generated in at least one charging part can be passivelytransferred. A combination of copper, aluminum, brass, steel and/orbronze may be included in the thermally conductive housing.Additionally, the thermally conductive housing may draw heat along aplurality of paths according to the relative thermal resistance of eachof such paths.

Referring to FIGS. 29, 30, and 31A to 31E, a USB charging system 2900and method for dynamic load sharing is described. The USB chargingsystem 2900 can be employed to dynamically charge multiple electronicdevices (e.g., two electronic devices 2910 a and 2910 b) at relativelyhigh wattage (e.g., at 60 watts of combined total output) to reduce anamount of overall time for charging the multiple electronic devices byallocating power to the device in need of more power to reach a fullcharge. The systems and methods described with reference to FIGS. 29,30, and 31A to 31 are deployable as firmware of a USB chargingreceptacle (e.g., a 60 watt USB charging device) having at least twodynamically controlled USB charging ports (e.g., USB Type-C chargingports). While a 60 watt USB charging system is described as an example,the systems and methods described herein are similarly applicable to USBcharging systems above or below 60 watts.

When electronic devices 2910 a and 2910 b are respectively connectedwith and charging via first and second USB charging ports 190 a and 190b and one device reaches its maximum state of charge (SoC), the currentsupplied to that one device is reduced and the current supplied to theother device is increased. Thus, the device that is yet to reach itsmaximum SoC when another device has already reached its maximum SoC getsto charge faster thus reducing an overall charging time for multipleelectronic devices.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the logic circuit 400is configured to monitor a state of charge of devices 2910 a and 2910 bconnected with charging ports 190 a and 190 b, respectively. The logiccircuit 400 is configured to dynamically regulate a wattage deliveredeach of devices 2910 a and 2910 b. As an example, a maximum combinedwattage deliverable to the first and second charging ports 190 a and 190b is about 60 watts.

The logic circuit 400 is configured to reduce a wattage delivered tofirst charging port 190 a when a state of charge of the first device2910 a connected with the first charging port 190 a exceeds apredetermined threshold (e.g., when a maximum state of charge or a nearmaximum state of charge is reached). The logic circuit 400 is configuredto increase a wattage delivered to the second device 2910 b connectedwith the second charging port 190 b when the state of the charge of thefirst device 2910 a exceeds the predetermined threshold.

After a reduction/increase in supplied current, new power deliveryoutputs (PDOs) are advertised to ports 190 a and 190 b depending on theoutput current/power of ports 190 a and 190 b. Thus, there is no need todisconnect/reconnect any device to advertise new PDOs to ports 190 a or190 b. In both ports 190 a, 190 b charging voltages and currents arechanged (by advertising new PDOs) based on measuring the SoC of theelectronic devices connected in real time. An exemplary algorithm forimplementing dynamic load sharing in USB charging system 2900 isdescribed in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31A to31E.

As an example, a reduced wattage delivered to the first device 2910 aconnected with the first charging port 190 a is maintained at anabove-zero level, by the logic circuit 400, when the state of charge ofthe first device 2910 a is below a maximum state of charge for the firstdevice 2910 a. Thus, a minimal wattage may be applied to the firstcharging port 190 a, while a significantly higher wattage is applied tothe second charging port 190 b, or the reverse may be applied if seconddevice 2910 b reaches the predetermined charging threshold (e.g., themaximum state of charge of the second device 2910 b) before the firstdevice 2910 a. This process allows a nearly charged device to continuecharging while a second device at a lower level of charge is charged ata faster rate, thus reducing an overall amount of time needed to chargetwo devices.

Alternatively, the reduced wattage delivered to the first device 2910 aconnected with the first charging port 190 a can be maintained at 0watts, by the logic circuit 400, when the state of charge of the firstdevice 2910 a reaches the maximum state of charge for the first device2910 a. Thus, in this scenario the increased wattage delivered to thesecond device 2910 b is maintained at about 60 watts by the logiccircuit 400.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a first current sensor2901 in electrical communication with the logic circuit 400 is connectedwith the first charging port 190 a. A second current sensor 2902 inelectrical communication with the logic circuit 400 is connected withthe second charging port 190 b. The first current sensor 2901communicates data of a first load current in the first current sensor2901 to the logic circuit 400. The second current sensor 2902communicates data of a second load current in the second current sensor2902 to the logic circuit 400. Thus, the logic circuit 400 cancontinuously receive data of a current received in the first and secondcharging ports 190 a and 190 b (e.g., in real-time). Alternatively, thelogic circuit 400 can periodically receive data of a current received inthe first and second charging ports 190 a and 190 b (e.g., by sampling).

Referring particularly to FIGS. 30 and 31A to 31E, an exemplaryalgorithm 3100 employing hysteresis bands 3000 is described. Thealgorithm described below can be employed by firmware of a USB chargingreceptacle, as described herein.

In an exemplary algorithm, three power delivery outputs (PDOs) can beadvertised to each of two charging ports (see, e.g., USB ports 190 a and190 b). The three PDOs that are advertised depend on load power consumedby a port nearing full charge (i.e., a “lower power port”). Thedifference between the 5V3 A PDO and the regular PDO is that in 5V, 3 APDO, the lower power port nearing full charge is always advertised withonly the 5V, 3 A PDO whereas in the regular PDO, both the ports areadvertised with at least one PDO other than 5V, 3A.

If at least one port is charging at 5V, 3 A, then the correspondingdevice connected with that port is already in the 5V, 3 A PDO state. Theother states where both electronic devices get charged at identicalvoltages (other than 5V) are regular PDO states.

When an electronic device connected with a charging port is operating ina regular PDO state, the firmware checks periodically if the powerconsumed by one of the ports is less than 6 W. If this proposition istrue, then a counter is initialized to 3 and is decremented. If thisproposition is false, then the counter is reinitialized to 3. If thecounter equals 0 then the lower power port is advertised only with 5V, 3A PDO. If the higher power port is charging at 20V, 1.5 A, then it getadvertised with 15V, 2 A, 9V, 2.5 A and 5V, 3 A PDOs. If the higherpower port is charging at “x” V(x=15V, 9V or 5V) then it isre-advertised with “x” V PDO and 5V, 3 A PDO. This condition is referredto as a 5V, 3 A condition.

In the 5V, 3 A condition, the firmware checks at a predetermined rate ifthe lower power port is within two thresholds. (a). P(lower powerport) >4 W and (b). P(lower power port) <7 W

If the power P(lower power port)<4 W, then a counter is initialized to 3and is decremented. If the counter equals 0, then the lower power portis advertised with 5V, 900 mA PDO. The higher power port is advertisedwith 20V, 1.5 A, 15V, 2 A, 9V, 2.5 A and 5V, 3A PDOs. This is referredto as Reduced PDO state. At the Reduced PDO state, the counter is resetto 0.

In the 5V, 3 A condition, if the Power P(lower power port) >7 W at leastonce, then converter is switched back to the regular PDO state. Thecounter is reset to 0.

In the Reduced PDO state, the firmware checks at a predetermined rateP(lower power port) >7 W at least once, then converter is switched backto the regular PDO state. The firmware also checks if Power P(lowerpower port) >5 W at least once, then converter is switched back to the5V, 3 A state. The counter is reset to 0.

While several embodiments of the disclosure have been shown in thedrawings, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, asit is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art willallow and that the specification be read likewise. Any combination ofthe above embodiments is also envisioned and is within the scope of theappended claims. Therefore, the above description should not beconstrued as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particularembodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modificationswithin the scope of the claims appended hereto.

1. A universal serial bus (USB) charging system, comprising: a powersupply including a plurality of power converters and a plurality ofpower supply outputs electrically coupled to the plurality of powerconverters, respectively, each of the plurality of power convertersconfigured to convert an input voltage to a plurality of outputvoltages; a plurality of charging ports electrically connected with theplurality of power supply outputs, respectively, each of the pluralityof charging ports configured to provide an output voltage selected fromthe plurality of output voltages to an electronic device; a temperaturesensor; and a logic circuit in electrical communication with the powersupply and the plurality of charging ports, the logic circuit configuredto provide direct feedback to the power supply to output a particularoutput voltage of the plurality of output voltages to the plurality ofcharging ports, the logic circuit configured to regulate a wattagedelivered to two or more charging ports of the plurality of chargingports, wherein the logic circuit is in electrical communication with thetemperature sensor and the logic circuit is configured to detect atemperature of the two or more charging ports of the plurality ofcharging ports and reduce a wattage delivered to a particular chargingport of the plurality of charging ports if a temperature detected in theparticular charging port of the plurality of charging ports exceeds apredetermined threshold.
 2. The USB charging system of claim 1, whereina maximum wattage deliverable to each charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports is from about 1 watt to about 100 watts.
 3. The USBcharging system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of charging portsincludes a USB Type-A port, or a USB Type-C port.
 4. The USB chargingsystem of claim 1, further including a thermistor connected with one ormore of a first power delivery (PD) controller integrated circuit (IC)or a second PD controller IC of the logic circuit, the thermistorconfigured to transmit temperature data of the USB charging systemthereto, the thermistor being in communication with a charging port ofthe plurality of charging ports.
 5. The USB charging system of claim 1,wherein the reduced wattage delivered to the particular charging port ofthe plurality of charging ports is maintained at an above-zero leveluntil a temperature of the particular charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports is reduced below a second predetermined threshold.
 6. TheUSB charging system of claim 1, wherein a first power converter of theplurality of power converters is configured to simultaneously output afirst output voltage different from a second output voltage output by asecond power converter of the plurality of power converters.
 7. The USBcharging system of claim 1, wherein the logic circuit comprises a powerdelivery (PD) controller integrated circuit (IC) connected with a firstcharging port of the plurality of charging ports and a second chargingport of the plurality of charging ports.
 8. A universal serial bus (USB)charging system, comprising: a power supply including a plurality ofpower converters and a plurality of power supply outputs electricallycoupled to the plurality of power converters, respectively, each of theplurality of power converters configured to convert an input voltage toa plurality of output voltages; a plurality of charging portselectrically connected with the plurality of power supply outputs,respectively, each of the plurality of charging ports configured toprovide an output voltage selected from the plurality of output voltagesto an electronic device; a temperature sensor; and a logic circuit inelectrical communication with the power supply and the plurality ofcharging ports, the logic circuit configured to provide direct feedbackto the power supply to output a particular output voltage of theplurality of output voltages to the plurality of charging ports, thelogic circuit configured to regulate a wattage delivered to two or morecharging ports of the plurality of charging ports, wherein the logiccircuit is in electrical communication with the temperature sensor andthe logic circuit is configured to detect a current drawn by the two ormore charging ports of the plurality of charging ports and reduce acurrent drawn by a particular charging port of the plurality of chargingports if a temperature detected in the particular charging port of theplurality of charging ports exceeds a predetermined threshold.
 9. TheUSB charging system of claim 8, wherein a maximum wattage deliverable toeach charging port of the plurality of charging ports is from about 1watt to about 100 watts.
 10. The USB charging system of claim 8, whereinthe plurality of charging ports includes a USB Type-A port, a USB Type-Cport, or a Line-Voltage port.
 11. The USB charging system of claim 8,further including a current sensor electrically connected with at leastone charging port of the plurality of charging ports, the current sensorconfigured to collect current data for the at least one charging port ofthe plurality of charging ports and communicate the current data to thelogic circuit.
 12. The USB charging system of claim 8, wherein thereduced wattage delivered to the particular charging port of theplurality of charging ports is maintained at an above-zero level until acurrent of the particular charging port of the plurality of chargingports is reduced below a second predetermined threshold.
 13. The USBcharging system of claim 8, wherein a first power converter of theplurality of power converters is configured to simultaneously output afirst output voltage with a second output voltage output by a secondpower converter of the plurality of power converters.
 14. The USBcharging system of claim 8, wherein the logic circuit comprises a powerdelivery (PD) controller integrated circuit (IC) connected with a firstcharging port of the plurality of charging ports and a second chargingport of the plurality of charging ports.
 15. A universal serial bus(USB) charging system, comprising: a power supply including a pluralityof power converters and a plurality of power supply outputs electricallycoupled to the plurality of power converters, respectively, each of theplurality of power converters configured to convert an input voltage toa plurality of output voltages; a plurality of charging portselectrically connected with the plurality of power supply outputs,respectively, each of the plurality of charging ports configured toprovide an output voltage selected from the plurality of output voltagesto an electronic device; a temperature sensor; a logic circuit inelectrical communication with the power supply and the plurality ofcharging ports, the logic circuit configured to provide direct feedbackto the power supply to output a particular output voltage of theplurality of output voltages to the plurality of charging ports, thelogic circuit configured to regulate a wattage delivered to two or morecharging ports of the plurality of charging ports, wherein the logiccircuit is in electrical communication with the temperature sensor andthe logic circuit is configured to detect a temperature of the two ormore charging ports of the plurality of charging ports and reduce awattage delivered to a particular charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports if a temperature detected in the particular charging portof the plurality of charging ports exceeds a predetermined threshold;and a thermally conductive housing in thermal contact with the powersupply, the plurality of charging ports and the logic circuit, thethermally conductive housing configured to transfer heat away from atleast one of the power supply, the charging ports of the plurality ofcharging ports, or the logic circuit to reduce a temperature of the USBcharging system.
 16. The USB charging system of claim 15, wherein thethermally conductive housing includes a metal.
 17. The USB chargingsystem of claim 15, wherein a maximum wattage deliverable to eachcharging port of the plurality of charging ports is at least 30 watts.18. The USB charging system of claim 15, wherein the plurality ofcharging ports includes a USB Type-A port, a USB Type-C port, or aLine-Voltage port.
 19. The USB charging system of claim 15, wherein thereduced wattage delivered to the particular charging port of theplurality of charging ports is maintained at an above-zero level until atemperature of the particular charging port of the plurality of chargingports is reduced below a second predetermined threshold.
 20. The USBcharging system of claim 15, wherein a first power converter of theplurality of power converters is configured to simultaneously output afirst output voltage different from a second output voltage output by asecond power converter of the plurality of power converters.
 21. Auniversal serial bus (USB) charging system, comprising: a power supplyincluding a plurality of power converters and a plurality of powersupply outputs electrically coupled to the plurality of powerconverters, respectively, each of the plurality of power convertersconfigured to convert an input voltage to a plurality of outputvoltages; a plurality of charging ports electrically connected with theplurality of power supply outputs, respectively, each of the pluralityof charging ports configured to provide an output voltage selected fromthe plurality of output voltages to an electronic device; a temperaturesensor; and a logic circuit in electrical communication with the powersupply, the plurality of charging ports and the temperature sensor, thelogic circuit configured to provide direct feedback to the power supplyto output a particular output voltage of the plurality of outputvoltages to the plurality of charging ports, the logic circuitconfigured to monitor a state of charge of a device connected with eachcharging port of the plurality of charging ports and regulate a wattagedelivered to the device connected with each charging port of theplurality of charging ports, wherein the logic circuit is configured toreduce a wattage delivered to a first charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports when a state of charge of a first device connected withthe first charging port of the plurality of charging ports exceeds apredetermined threshold and increase a wattage delivered to a seconddevice connected with a second charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports when the state of the charge of the first device exceedsthe predetermined threshold.
 22. The USB charging system of claim 21,wherein a maximum combined wattage deliverable to the first and secondcharging ports is from about 1 watt to about 100 watts.
 23. The USBcharging system of claim 21, wherein the first charging port and thesecond charging port art both USB Type-C ports.
 24. The USB chargingsystem of claim 21, wherein the reduced wattage delivered to the firstdevice connected with the first charging port of the plurality ofcharging ports is maintained at an above-zero level, by the logiccircuit, when the state of charge of the first device is below a maximumstate of charge for the first device.
 25. The USB charging system ofclaim 21, wherein the reduced wattage delivered to the first deviceconnected with the first charging port of the plurality of chargingports is maintained at a range of from 0 watts to about 15 watts, by thelogic circuit, when the state of charge of the first device reaches amaximum state of charge for the first device.
 26. The USB chargingsystem of claim 21, wherein when the state of charge of the first devicereaches a maximum state of charge for the first device, the increasedwattage delivered to the second device is maintained at substantially amaximum wattage output of the USB charging system by the logic circuit.27. The USB charging system of claim 21, further including a firstcurrent sensor connected with the first charging port and a secondcurrent sensor connected with the second charging port, the firstcurrent sensor configured to communicate data of a first load current inthe first current sensor to the logic circuit, and the second currentsensor configured to communicate data of a second load current in thesecond current sensor to the logic circuit.
 28. The USB charging systemof claim 27, wherein the logic circuit is configured to receive the dataof the first load current and the second load current, and adjust thewattage delivered to the device connected with each charging port of theplurality of charging ports in real-time.
 29. The USB charging system ofclaim 21, wherein a first power converter of the plurality of powerconverters is configured to simultaneously output a first output voltagedifferent from a second output voltage output by a second powerconverter of the plurality of power converters.
 30. The USB chargingsystem of claim 21, wherein the logic circuit comprises a first powerdelivery (PD) controller integrated circuit (IC) and a second PDcontroller IC, the first PD controller IC electrically connected with afirst charging port of the plurality of charging ports and the second PDcontroller IC electrically connected with a second charging port of theplurality of charging ports.